Every five minutes, it seems, I see a commercial about HFCS. There are two different ones, two different scenarios where someone is horrified about HFCS but stammers stupidly and can't think of a reason why. The person they're talking to then informs them that it's made from corn, has the same calories as sugar, and is "fine in moderation". They also say it "has no artificial ingredients". No shit--IT IS an artificial ingredient. Just because it starts out as starch doesn't mean it's natural. The amount of processing that goes into that crap is astounding!

As far as the rest of it ... blech. That shit will basically caramelize your arteries by damaging a certain type of cholesterol in your blood. It raises insulin, although it can enter your cells on its own (doesn't have to go through the insulin transport mechanism like sucrose). I think plain fructose does that, like the kind in fruit, but the problem with HFCS is the amount of fructose it dumps into your system. There are some other problems with it, but I haven't read about it in a couple of years and can't put my hands on the book the info is in right now.

Does that mean I scrupulously avoid HFCS? No. When I'm not paying attention to what I eat, I'm sure I eat plenty of it. Especially since I do a little too much fast food at those times. And I work in a commercial restaurant. But even when I am paying attention, I don't scruitinize labels that closely.

So why do these HFCS commercials piss me off, if I'm not militant about it? Because in NO WAY is it natural or healthy. "Fine in moderation"? Yeah, okay, whatever. But calling it a "sweet surprise" and implying it's all sunshine and roses pisses me off. Portraying people with concerns as rude or idiotic pisses me off too.